Holder for brooms and the like.



O. J. MERRILL & J. G. BLAZEK.

HOLDER FOR BROOMS AND THE LIKE.

, APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20. 1913.

Patented Mar. 14, 1916.

Oliver JJFerrv'lZ Jbse afi GBZazeK s re rns rant eerie.

OLIVER J. MERRILL, 0F TROPIC O, AND JOSEPH G. BLAZEK, OF INGLEWOOD, GALI- FORNIA; SAID BLAZEK ASSIGNOR TO SAID MERRILL.

HOLDER FOR BROOMS AND THE LIKE.

Application filed March 20, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, OLIVER J. MERRILL and JOSEPH G. BLAZEK, both citizens of the United States, the former residing at Tropico, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, and the latter residing at Inglewood, in thecounty of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Holder for Brooms and the like, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of inventions comprising devices to be applied to walls for the purpose of holding either brooms, mops and the like or flexiblelines such as ropesor cables.

Objects of the inventionare to provide a device of this character which is of very simple and cheap construction and which when mounted upon a wall is adapted to receive and securely hold the handle of a broom or other implement to support the same in a hanging position, and to accomplish this without liability of marring or scratching the handle as it is inserted into or removed from the device. r

Heretofore in holders of this character having a pivotal clamping member the action has been dependent upon gravity, it being necessary when "introducing a handle to thrust the end thereof upwardly between the supporting and clamping members to first raise the clamping member in opposition to gravity. Accordingly it has also been necessary to mount the holder upon the wall at a height correspondingly greater than the height of the handled implement in order to accommodate the handle end.

In practical use it is found very desirable to mount the holder considerably lower, say at about arms height, and a specific object of this invention is to secure a lower mounting and to eliminate the aforesaid upward thrust of thehandle by so constructing a holder that any portion of a handle may be inserted into direct engagement therewith, thus permittingthe introducing by a natural'forward movement. I With this end in view, when the holder is not in commission, we maintain the clamping armin a normal open position in opposition to gravity and provide a finger that is adapted to bear against and be operated by the handle to turn the clamping arm upon the introduction of said handle into the holder. 7

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 14:, 1916.

Serial No. 755,809.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide a device of this character by which a person may easily, readily and positively support a broom or the likewith the action of one hand. i

The device when used as a rope holder is particularly useful in securing the ropes of awnings, skylights and the like, and an- Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan of the holder viewedfrom line 00 Figs. 1, 3 and 4 showing the broom handle held in place. Fig. 3 is an enlargedfront elevation of the holder upon a wall, a fragment of which is shown. Dot and dash lines indicate parts of the holder in the normal open position and the broom handle just inserted preparatory to moving said parts into a holding position shown in solid lines. Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation from line 00", Figs. 2 and 3. A portion of the broom handle, shown in place in the holder, is broken away to expose parts otherwise hidden. Fig. 5 is a view of the holder analogous to Fig. 3, showing parts in the normal open position preparatory to receiving an implement handle.

Arrows indicate the direction of sight on the various views.

This invention is adapted to be secured to a wall 1 and comprises a base member 2 and a clamp member 8, both of which are preferably'made of sheet metal. 7

The base member 2 may be fastened to the wall by means of counter-sunk screws 4:

and terminates at one end in a supporting arm 5 that has an inner concave face 6* pivot 9 which 'is'preferably a screw extending through holes10 and 11 in the members 3 and 2 respectively and into the wall 1, said member 3 having-at one end a bent portion to form a concavo-convex clamping arm 12 and an extending portion below said bent portion to form an actuating finger 13. The screw 9 is also utilized to hold the clamp member 3 against the base member 2 so that their respective faces press slightly upon each other'and this frictional resistance which is thereby produced acts to hold the clamping arm up in opposition to gravitv.

The concavo-convex clamping arm 12 is provided with'a concave clamping surface 14 conforming to the contour of the broom handle 7 and is substantially triangular in' shape, having the lower curved edge 15 cut aslant toward the arm tip, so that said edge tapersupw'ardly and outwardly to thereby permit free and uninterrupted access for the insertion or withdrawal of the handle as hereinafter described.

The actuating finger 13 constitutes positive means to actuate the clamping arm 12, in opposition to the frictional resistance of the members 2 and 3, to cooperate with the supporting arm 5 and has a tip 16 adapted to bear against and be operated by the broom handle to turn the clamping arm to effect the clamping or releasing of the same handle as hereinafter, described.

A stop 17 in the form of a pin mounted in the base member 2 is adapted to be engaged by the upper side of the clamp member 3 forwardly of the pivot 9, as atlS Fig.

7 5, to limit the upward movement of said clamp member and its arm', 12. Should the member 3 and arm 12 be accidentally knocked from the open position, normally held therein by friction between the two members, the

upper side of the member 3 will engage the v slight downward pull of the handle the finger 18 is moved downwardly by its tip to turn the clampingv arm 12' of the clamp member 3 about the pivot 9. During this movement of thefinger 13 and clamping arm 12the finger tip 16 carries said handle sidewise-to engage with the face 6 of the supporting arm as the clamping surface 11 ofsaid clamping arm is turned into vertical Valinement with and bearing against the handle to thereby clamp or wedge the same firmly-against said face 6.

When it is desired to remove the broom from the holder a slight upward movement of the handle will cause the finger tip 16, then contacting with said handle 7 to move the finger to turn the clamp member audits arm 12 upward aboutthe pivot 9 to effect a release of the handle 7, the fingertip meanwhile carrying the handle sidewise from the supporting arm 5 until said clamping member 3 is arrested by the stop 17. The handle is then in position to clear the outer edge 21 of the face 6, and the inside corner of the aslant edge 15 then lies substantially in a transverse plane relative to the plane of movement of the clamping member, shown best by the dot-anddashposition in Fig. 3, so that no interruption is encountered as said handle is withdrawn from the holder. Should, however, the lower edge 15 extend parallel with instead of being inclined to the top edge a resultinglower cornered portion of the clamping arm would necessarily extend in front of the upright handle when the clamping arm was inclined from the vertical which would not only form an obstruction to interfere with the ready insertion or removal at right angles to the holder, but would also graze and scratch the handle as the same was :passed therearound. This portion is accordingly cut away leaving the substantially triangular clamping arm having the aslant curved edge 15. In this manner it is made possible to provide the clamping arm with a concave engaging surface that conforms to the side of the broom handle and at the same time avoid any inter 'ferenccvto the ready insertion of thehandle preparatory to supporting it or to the removal of the 'handleafter releasing it.

It is essential to'the effective operation of the holder thatthe clamping arm 12 engage the implement handle to clampor wedge the same againstthe supporting arm somewhat above the horizontal plane of the pivot :9 and to provide adjustment ofthe holder for different-sized implement handles to thereby maintainpra-ctically the same effective wedging angle of the clampfmember 3, the latter'may be provided with centrally-arranged holes as at 19 and 20 adjacent the pivot hole 10, so that the distance between the arms 5 and 12 may be increased for a larger handle or decreased for, a smaller one by utilizing one of the holes 19 or, 20, respectively, as a pivotal support. on

It is thus seen that a holder is provided comprising a supporting arm and a clamp ing arm; said clamping armbeing provided with a concave clamping surface which constitutes novel clamping or wedging means adapted to cooperate with the supporting arm to securely hold the implement handle as above described. Also said clamping arm is frictionally maintained n a normal open position after the handle is withdrawn, so that any portion of the handlefmaybe again introduced into direct iii) engagementwith the holder by a natural forward and horizontal movement preparatory toclamping, and novel means in the form of a finger is provided to turn the clamping arm, said finger being manipulated by a slight upward or downward movement of the handle after the same is inserted in place between the arms and against the finger.

We do not limit the invention to the specific embodiment shown as the device may be used to secure the ropes of awnings, sky lights and the like, in which case the holder is mounted upon a wall in an inverted position with the clamping arm adapted to be moved upwardly instead of downwardly to thereby effect a clamping with the supporting arm.

lVe claim 1. A holder for the handle of a broom or the like, said holder comprising a stationary arm, a pivotally mounted clamp member frictionally supported relative to said stationary arm, an outwardly bent clamping arm carried by said clamp member and adapted to be turned into and out of clamping relation with the stationary arm, a. finger extending from the clamp member and projecting beyond the clamping arm in the produced plane of said clamp member, said finger being adapted to extend rearwardly of the handle and bear against the same when the clamping arm is out of clamping relation to thereby turn the clamping arm into clamping relation when the handle is moved down.

2. A holder for the handle of a broom or the like, said holder comprising a base member having a supporting arm provided with an inner concave face, a. clamp member pivotally mounted upon and adapted to said clamp member and said base member.

carried by the clamp member and adapted to bear against and be operated by the handle to turn said clamping arm.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands at Los Angeles, California, this 1st day of March, 1913.

OLIVER J. MERRILL. JOSEPH G. BLAZEK.

In the presence of VVILLIAM N. KIRKBY, FRANK E. LEJUICH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

